The internet of things promises to reshape our lives as fundamentally as the introduction of the railway, but with less public consent or even debate about its arrival.

He also envisions an "Internet of Things" that will link every item sold, from a can of Pepsi to an Armani dress shirt, to its own Web page, tracking it from manufacturer to warehouse to transport and beyond.

The internet of things is likely to extend into the home, with a range of IP-enabled appliances: smoke detectors, fridges, microwaves, boilers - almost anything that is at present connected to the power grid is expected to get an IP address sometime in the future.